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C O V E R S T O R Ydebate that Fletcher had to explain a schoolreform law to him. Filner topped off his flubsover his major Unified Port of San Diego expansionplan when his cell phone rang in themiddle of a television interview about it.But soon Filner began receiving seriousassistance fron an unlikely source. As farback as the winter, DeMaio would walk upto Filner at events and deliver a message, accordingto Filner’s campaign. “I’m remindingpeople that Bob Filner is the Democrat,”DeMaio would say.DeMaio’s strategy was simple. A runoffagainst Filner would produce the kid of rightvs. left battle that the councilman could win.A runoff against a moderate would be muchtougher. And DeMaio had the money, campaigninfrastructure and standing near thetop of the polls to try to pick his opponent.Once Fletcher started surging, it meantDeMaio and his supporters had to take outthe assemblyman. When the campaign enteredits final month, they began executing aplan relentlessly.Voters’ mailboxes overflowed with mailfrom DeMaio attacking Fletcher’s poor attendancerecord in the Assembly. And thetelevision airwaves showed an ad blasting theassemblyman for engineering a middle-ofthe-nightdeal to send billions in tax revenuesDowntown at the expense of stateschool funding.DeMaio’s supporters believed these hitswould work. Polling done by a political actioncommittee backing DeMaio showedthat 81 percent and 74 percent of Fletchersupporters were less likely to vote for the assemblymanonce their heard about his abswenteeismand the Downtown dea,respectively. DeMaio also went so far as tosend mail to Democrats, quoting left-wingpoliticians and using left-wing rhetoric toblast Fletcher’s standing with liberals.Filner realized he benefited from all this,calling DeMaio his “best weapon” againstFletcher. He also began hitting a stride of hisown. His debate appearances becamesharper and crisper. He brought down Lt.Gov. Gavin Newsom, a stae Democraticheavyweight, for a fundraiser. And he spokemore humbly abougt his own campaign. Headmitted that he should have spent moretime raising money and that he had underestimatedFletcher.It became impossible to pay even theslightest attention to the campaign and nothear the Filner-as-Democrat message.Where’s Bonnie?Lost in all this drama was Dumanis. The60-yeear-old district attorney entered therace as one of the favorites. She had cultivatedpowerful political relationships, andendorsement from the popular Sandersand a well-known law-and-order reputationwith voters. But her problems beganfrom the start.Dumanis’ most powerful message, herexperience and steady hand, took a hit earlyon when she fired her first campaign manager,reported lackluster fundraising totalsand flip-flopped on Proposition B.Fletcher’s endorsement by the city’s policeunion and other public safety groups madeit so that she couldn’t claim to be law enforcement’schoice for the job. And shestruggled to communicate a simple visionfor what she wanted San Diego to beunder her leadership.She tried to make San Diego’s flaggingK-12 public education system her signaturepolicy platform, even though the cityhas no control over schools. Dumanis succeededin making education a campaignissue, but again couldn’t sell her ideasenough to make it a dominant one. OnceFletcher’s independence play succeeded,her efforts to capture the traditional SanDiego middle fell short. Time and again,Fletcher supporters implored her to quitthe race.But Dumanis didn’t go out without afight. She showed feistiness in the campaign’slast few weeks that cut againstFletcher and Filner and put them on thedefensive.Fletcher Fights Back, But It’sNot EnoughMeanwhile, Fletcher was strugglingunder th weight of all the attacks. Despitehis fundraising prowess, Fletcher didn’thave enough money to chase the growingnumber of mail-in voters, maintain a consistentpresence on television and organizea get-out-the-vote drive on Election Day.Besides, while Fletcher’s independencemove was a stunning success at the time, ithappened 10 weeks before Election Day.Fletcher didn’t have a second act, somethingother campaigns noticed.“How does John DeLorean really followup the DeLorean with anything else?” saidRon Nehring, a Dumanis consultant. “Youhave a really cool car, but then what do youdo next?”Fletcher turned his attention to ElectionDay. The campaign targeted people whotypically don’t turn out in force for primaries:voters under 50, decline-to-states andmoderates from both parties.The election’s initial results showedFletcher five points behind Filner. And Filner’slead inched forward throughout thenight.But the election wasn’t about the middleor any one candidate who tried to courtmoderate support. Instead, the rules of alow-turnout primary held strong. EnoughRepublicans went Republican. EnoughDemocrats went Democratic. Everyoneelse didn’t vote.“You do everything you can to ward offgravity,” said Jennifer Tierney, a Dumanisconsultant. “But eventually, everything alwayshits the ground.”2 0S A N D I E G O M E T R O . C O M | J U LY 2 0 1 2 | 2 7 T H A N N I V E R S A R Y 1 9 8 5 - 2 0 1 2
C O M M E R C I A L R E A L E S TAT EThe Economy … Good, and Getting BetterAcross industries and across the region, San Diego companies areexpecting increased revenues and increased employmentBy David MarinoIn reading media headlines, it’s hard to decipher if the economyis recovering, slowing or heading for a “double dip.” Part of the problembehind the headlines is that it’s an election year, and there istremendous political spin that distorts the reality of how things reallyare. Further, government economic data looks backwards in theeconomy, versus having good vision for the future. The stock marketacts impulsively in the present for short-term gains, but also isgambling on the future…more of a Vegas casino than an indicator.As a commercial real estate professional that spends every day infront of different business owners and executive management teams,I can report first-hand that the San Diego economy is good, andgetting better. My evaluation is based on more than just strong anecdotalevidence, even though that evidence in itself is consistentlypositive and optimistic.What is so powerful about the work I do, and the time in whichI engage with a company, is that I actively represent companies asthey are planning for their space needs one to three years into the future.My team and I are meeting daily with business owners, assessingtheir revenues and hiring plans, and determining their needsfor more or less space to accommodate these plans.Over the last two years, I have been reporting the square footagethat is being leased and absorbed in San Diego County, caused bythe jobs recovery, which is requiring companies lease more spaceand expand. As we look deep into the companies that we are currentlyengaged with to relocate, expand or renew their leases, thereis strong empirical evidence of continued job growth and positiveeconomic future trends.Considering all of our current active client engagements of 3,000square feet and above, of which I separated the companies into smallbusinesses (companies of under 40 employees), and large businesses(companies of over 40 employees), I found the following:Forty four percent of small businesses and 49 percent of large businessesare growing — defined as adding at least 15 percent of morespace capacity beyond what they currently occupy. Many are doingso substantially. Only 7 percent of small businesses and 9 percent oflarge businesses are downsizing, intending to lease 85 percent of thespace they currently occupy, or less. That’s a growing to downsizingratio of 6:1 for small businesses, and 5:1 for large businesses!The remainder of the companies are stable, with 49 percent ofsmall businesses and 42 percent of large businesses intending torenew their leases, or relocate to locations of comparable size. Slicedanother way, only one in 14 small businesses are downsizing, andonly one in 11 large businesses are downsizing. This isn’t the economicslowdown that some pundits are preaching. To the contrary,conditions have been improving in the San Diego economy for twoyears now, and are continuing to trend very positively for 2012 andwell into 2013.These large and small companies that we are currently workingwith primarily have leases expiring in 2013, and a few into 2014.These companies are planning and committing now to their futureintentions, and these companies are mostly making bigger bets onthe future, versus what they have in the present.Across industries, and across the region, San Diego companiesare expecting increased revenues and increased employment, andare signing on the dotted line for new leases to facilitate it. The statisticsare consistent across all submarkets of San Diego County, butmost compelling is that 70 percent of the companies we are workingwith on the I-15 Corridor are growing, as are 70 percent of thecompanies in Downtown San Diego, with particular strength in thesmall business category.I have daily conversations with CEOs and business owners whoare seeking to hire employees at all levels. Therefore, if you are readingthis and are unemployed, or under-employed, it’s time to dust offthat resume and make strong efforts to get back into the job force,as even greater times for San Diego are ahead.David Marino is principal of Hughes Marino, thelargest San Diego commercial real estate companywith brokers exclusively specializing in tenantrepresentation for lease negotiations andbuilding purchases. (619) 238-2111. Email:david@hughesmarino.com.2 7 T H A N N I V E R S A R Y 1 9 8 5 - 2 0 1 2 | J U LY 2 0 1 2 | S A N D I E G O M E T R O . C O M2 1
Page 1: July 2012DeMAIO VS. FILNERA RARE PA
Page 5 and 6: S A N D I EG O S C E N ESAN DIEGOSC
Page 7 and 8: S A N D I EG O S C E N ENew Childre
Page 9 and 10: S A N D I EG O S C E N ESan Diego
Page 12 and 13: M E N W H O R O C KANDREW E. NELSON
Page 14 and 15: M E N W H O R O C KMARK CAFFERTYMar
Page 16 and 17: M E N W H O R O C KJASON ROSEJason
Page 18 and 19: S A N D I E G O M A Y O R ’ S R A
Page 22 and 23: B A N K I N GThe Power of Community
Page 24 and 25: A R TKorean-born artist Do Ho Suh i
Page 26 and 27: T H E AT E RTHEATERTheater: The Nex
Page 28 and 29: S O C I A L D I A RYSummer Fun and
Page 30 and 31: A U T ONEW CAR REVIEW: Volvo’s C3
Page 32 and 33: Y O U T H L E A D E R S H I PVietna
Page 34 and 35: THE MASTER CRAFTSMANVan Dusen’s g
Page 36 and 37: T H E M E PA R K SBELMONT PARK:San
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